A thoughtful discussion on immigration? Believe it

The debate over immigration often turns fierce, but under House State Affairs Committee Chairman Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, the air was of deliberate concern as lawmakers heard a partial tally of state costs for services to non-citizens.

Solomons, who heard invited testimony from state officials and others yesterday, told me he doesn’t plan another hearing before the legislative session barring some unexpected development.

He had the hearing on costs because he said accurate data’s hard to get to, noting that Rep. John Zerwas, R-Katy, pushed a bill that died last session meant to get a handle on the figures.

According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, there were some 11,766 offenders who claim foreign citizenship in the state prison system as of July 31, or about 7.5 percent of the offender population. Some 9,800 have immigration detainers placed on them by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, meaning they will face deportation. The rest are in the process. They cost some $171 million a year; the federal government contributed $17.9 million this fiscal year.

Health and human services to immigrants here illegally cost the state an estimated $96 million in fiscal year 2009, mainly in emergency Medicaid services but also in family violence and Children’s Health Insurance Program perinatal services Those dollars also attracted federal matching funds, an official said.

Several lawmakers noted the need to watch for unintended consequences in any immigration crackdown. Rep. Rene Oliveira, D-Brownsville, noted among other points that denying health care to some could pose a big health risk for the community at large when it comes to communicable diseases. While talking of the need for border security, he highlighted the importance of Mexico to Texas.

Rep. Jose Menendez, D-San Antonio, called for a reckoning of the cost of time diverted from other law-enforcement duties if law officers were required to do more with regard to checking immigration status, as called for in Arizona’s disputed law.

All in all, it was a calm discussion, for which Menendez credited Solomons’ style as chairman, along with the diversity and experience of State Affairs members appointed by House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio.

But it could have been otherwise. Word (unconfirmed) was that that Rep. Debbie Riddle — the Tomball Republican who plans to push an Arizona-style law here and most recently got national attention over her discussion of terror babies – had planned to come but thought the meeting started at noon instead of 10 a.m.